WhisperDictate

A simple menu bar app for voice dictation using OpenAI Whisper (local, offline).

Platforms

Platform	Language	Status
macOS	Swift	✅ Ready
Linux	Rust	🔜 Planned
Windows	C#	🔜 Planned

macOS

Features

• 🎤 Global hotkey (⌃⌥D) to start/stop recording
• 🔒 Fully offline - uses local Whisper model
• ⚡ Automatic paste into any focused app
• ⚙️ Settings window (language, model path, sounds)
• 🚀 Launch at login support

Requirements

• macOS 13.0+
• Apple Silicon Mac (M1/M2/M3)
• whisper-cpp (brew install whisper-cpp)
• Whisper model file

Installation

1. Install whisper-cpp

brew install whisper-cpp

2. Download Whisper model

mkdir -p ~/.whisper-models
curl -L -o ~/.whisper-models/ggml-medium.bin \
  "https://huggingface.co/ggerganov/whisper.cpp/resolve/main/ggml-medium.bin"

3. Build and install

cd macos
make install

This compiles the app and installs it to /Applications/WhisperDictate.app.

Usage

1. Launch WhisperDictate from Applications
2. Look for the 🎤 icon in your menu bar
3. Press ⌃⌥D (Control + Option + D) to start recording
4. Speak (icon changes to 🔴)
5. Press ⌃⌥D again to stop and transcribe
6. Text is automatically pasted where your cursor is

Settings

Click the menu bar icon → Settings to configure:

• Language: Two-letter code (hu, en, de, fr, es...)
• Model Path: Path to your Whisper model file
• Sound feedback: Toggle audio feedback on/off
• Launch at login: Start automatically when you log in

Audio Feedback

• 🔔 Tink - Recording started
• 🔔 Pop - Recording stopped, processing
• 🔔 Glass - Success, text pasted
• 🔔 Basso - Error

Permissions

Grant these in System Settings → Privacy & Security:

• Microphone - for recording
• Accessibility - for auto-paste

Build Commands

make build    # Compile the app
make install  # Install to /Applications
make run      # Build and run
make dmg      # Create distributable DMG
make clean    # Remove build artifacts

License

MIT License